(414) 279-5510 Call Motorcycle & Bike Towing · St. Francis, Milwaukee County
A dropped bike, a dead battery, a fresh pickup — in St. Francis it all rides the same way: flatbed, wheel chock, soft straps, tied down at three to four points so it arrives exactly as it left. Quick to WIS-32 (Kinnickinnic Ave / E Howard Ave / Lake Drive), WIS-794 (John R. Plewa Memorial Lake Parkway), and CTH-Y (Layton Avenue), ~20-min typical arrival, flat price before we load.
Wheel chock & soft straps ★ 4.3 · 373 reviews Serving all of Milwaukee County Licensed & Insured
Our South Side Milwaukee yard is about 5 road miles from St. Francis — tell us the bike and a live dispatcher rolls the nearest flatbed with the right chock and straps.
For St. Francis riders the promise is simple: flatbed, wheel chock, soft straps, upright the whole way. MKE Towing & Recovery never uses a hook-and-chain or wheel-lift on a motorcycle. Coverage spans St. Francis and the rest of Milwaukee County 7 days a week; we stage about 5 road miles out at our South Side Milwaukee yard, so a typical run lands in about 20 minutes via WIS-32 (Kinnickinnic Ave / E Howard Ave / Lake Drive). Most local bike tows run $135–$200, quoted before we load. Call (414) 279-5510.
The question every rider asks
A motorcycle has nothing to lean on but the tie-down. We load yours on a flatbed, lock the front wheel in a wheel chock, and run soft straps around the bars or frame — never over plastics, levers, or with a hook-and-chain. The bike rides upright and arrives exactly as it left.
Local to St. Francis
The dispatcher's view of St. Francis, written down — coverage corridors, riding conditions, dealer pickups, and the honest arrival window for Milwaukee County calls.
Where the John R. Plewa Memorial Lake Parkway (WIS-794) drops below grade through St. Francis, breakdowns are frequent — and that same stretch is the main commuter artery, linking the Hoan Bridge and downtown to Mitchell Airport just south, heaviest from 7–9 AM and again from 4–6 PM. WIS-32 (Kinnickinnic Avenue, East Howard Avenue and South Lake Drive) and Layton Avenue (CTH-Y) handle the local movement, feeding toward Milwaukee and Cudahy. The city's major surface crossings — East Howard Avenue at Kinnickinnic, Lake Drive and Packard, and East Layton at Pennsylvania and Whitnall — are largely uncontrolled, so watch for right-of-way fender-benders.
Every rider on WIS-32 (Kinnickinnic Ave / E Howard Ave / Lake Drive), WIS-794 (John R. Plewa Memorial Lake Parkway), and CTH-Y (Layton Avenue) knows the list — joints, bridge decks, ramp gravel, left-turn traffic. What matters after a drop is the load: front wheel chocked, soft straps to the frame, upright and flat all the way in.
~5 road miles from our South Side yard, with coverage across Milwaukee & Waukesha counties. Live ETA confirmed on the call.
Bought a bike or pulling one from storage? We load it the same careful way and bring it home.
The bluff below St. Francis Seminary is where the lake makes itself felt: dense fog and lake-effect snow settle there and along the lakefront, and shoreline roads can hold cold and ice longer than streets a few blocks inland. Sitting directly on Lake Michigan, the city runs a humid continental pattern — snowy, cold winters; humid, warm summers.
Figure early April to mid-November for St. Francis saddle time, with May through October the heart of it; the rest of the year the bikes sit in storage. Winter doesn't stop the flatbed: storage pickups in the fall and spring delivery runs keep the motorcycle side moving until riding weather returns.
Milwaukee is where Harley-Davidson started and where it stays — headquarters on Juneau Avenue, museum on Canal Street — and that heritage shapes how much two-wheel traffic these roads carry. Go down on a weekend ride — the 115-mile Kettle Moraine Scenic Drive (Elkhart Lake to Whitewater Lake); Holy Hill and the Washington County back roads; Lake Drive and the Lake Michigan shoreline — and one call gets a flatbed rolling: tell the dispatcher where you went down and we'll confirm coverage and a live ETA.
The riding calendar runs hard here: Thursday Bike Nights at the Harley-Davidson Museum all summer, and Mama Tried — the country’s biggest winter motorcycle show — every February at the Eagles Ballroom.
Covering St. Francis ZIP codes: 53235
What we tow in St. Francis
A sportbike and a trike have different worries. Pick yours and we’ll show how we load and secure it — the same call the dispatcher makes so the right chock and straps roll to St. Francis ready.
Fairings and rear-sets leave little to grab, so we chock the front wheel and run soft straps to the triple-tree and frame — never over bodywork, levers, or controls. It rides upright and arrives unmarked.
Send the right gear — call nowIs this you right now?
St. Francis breakdowns don’t pick good spots — the WIS-32 (Kinnickinnic Ave / E Howard Ave / Lake Drive) shoulder, a turn lane, a dark side street. We clear you and the bike quickly.
A drop near St. Francis Seminary / Seminary Woods, Lakefront (Lake Drive), and Kinnickinnic Avenue corridor hurts enough already. We pick the bike up carefully and it collects nothing new on the way in.
Project bike, seized engine, dead battery, or a lost key. We winch or ramp it on — it doesn’t need to run.
Bought a bike near St. Francis Seminary / Seminary Woods, Lakefront (Lake Drive), and Kinnickinnic Avenue corridor? We collect it from the dealer or the seller’s driveway and deliver it home chocked and soft-strapped.
Fall run into storage, spring run back out — anywhere around St. Francis. Same chock, same soft straps, whatever the temperature.
Wider and heavier with two wheels on one end — we load and secure three-wheelers differently, but they ride flat safe.
What it costs
A local bike tow in St. Francis is a flat hook-up fee plus a per-loaded-mile rate — most run $135–$200. Distance, the type of bike, and how tricky the recovery is move it. Build an estimate below; you always hear the exact number on the call, before we load.
Getting a bike towed in St. Francis
Describe the bike and the spot — the WIS-32 (Kinnickinnic Ave / E Howard Ave / Lake Drive) shoulder, a driveway, a parking structure — and dispatch preps the chock and straps to match.
We quote a flat price before we load and give you a real arrival window for your exact St. Francis spot. No surprises at drop-off.
About 20 minutes later, on a typical St. Francis run, the flatbed pulls up — with a heads-up call from the driver first.
Chock in, soft straps on, secured upright — then dropped where you choose: shop, dealer, or home. Pay on the spot; receipt for your records.
Why St. Francis riders call MKE
A real ETA from the closest flatbed — answered live, any day, no call-center.
Flatbed, wheel chock, soft straps — every bike, every time. No hook-and-chain, no exceptions.
A flat hook-up plus per-loaded-mile, quoted before we touch the bike. The number you hear is what you pay.
Hundreds of bikes hauled across 2 SE Wisconsin counties. Licensed & Insured in Wisconsin.
St. Francis motorcycle towing questions
Usually about 20 minutes from our South Side base ~5 miles north. We run dedicated bike-towing gear across the city — the Lake Drive (WIS-32) lakefront run, the Seminary bluff, and the Kinnickinnic Avenue corridor. A live dispatcher gives you a real ETA 24/7. Call (414) 279-5510.
Motorcycle towing starts at $125 ($125–$150 by bike type) plus $4 per loaded mile — most hauls land between $135 and $200, quoted flat before we roll. We move it damage-free to your shop, the dealer, or home. Call (414) 279-5510.
Yes — that's the whole point. We use soft straps and a wheel chock or a flatbed with a front-wheel cradle, never a kickstand drag or a hook on the frame. Sport bikes, cruisers, baggers — they ride secured and upright to your shop, the dealer, or home. Call (414) 279-5510.
Yes. Trikes, scooters, choppers, baggers and customs all have their own tie-down points, and we bring the right straps and a flatbed when a bike can't roll. Custom bikes over 1,000 lbs go straight to a flatbed. Tell dispatch what you ride so the right gear shows up. Call (414) 279-5510.
Yes — a breakdown along South Lake Drive (WIS-32) by the lakefront or the Seminary bluff is familiar territory. We load the bike upright and run it home or to your shop. Get to a safe spot off the roadway, and call (414) 279-5510 with your cross-streets.
Nearby
Wherever the bike sits — St. Francis Seminary / Seminary Woods, Lakefront (Lake Drive), and Kinnickinnic Avenue corridor or the WIS-32 (Kinnickinnic Ave / E Howard Ave / Lake Drive) shoulder — a live dispatcher rolls a flatbed with a chock and soft straps, quotes the flat price up front, and has it there in about 20 minutes on a typical St. Francis call.